S.Korean military seeks to cut draft exemptions by 2023

South Korea's military is pushing to scrap nearly all exemptions currently applied to mandatory military service, driven by a growing shortfall in the number of conscripts due to the country's decreasing population.

The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that individuals with special expertise in the industrial or the academic sectors, including students of natural sciences and engineering, will no longer be exempt from the country's two-year compulsory military service by 2023.

Under the existing exemption programs, the above-mentioned individuals, instead of being conscripted, can serve out their term as a policeman, firefighter, coastguard, or in other government agencies, such as high-tech-oriented companies and research institutes.

The ministry plans to begin to phase out the number of exemptions starting in 2020. About 28,000 young men currently being exempt from the military service per year.